Splitting machine



Dec. 1-1, 1928. 1,694,441

J. GOULDBOURN ET AL SPLITTING MACHINE Filed April 50, 1925 /NVENTUR'5 Patented Dec. 11, 1928.

UNITED STATES JOSEPH GOULDBOURN, BASIL POIVIEROY COOPER, AND HAROLD ERNEST ELLIOTT, OF

Parent series.

LEICESTER, ENGLAND, AssIGNons TO UNITED SHOE MACHINERY CORPORATION; or :PATEEsoN, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION or NEW 'IER'SEY. v

SPLITTING MACHINE.

Application filed April 30, 1925, Serial No.

This invention relates to splitting machines and is herein lllustrated as embodied 1n a ma chine for splitting soles and similar blanks usually located beneath the knife and urged upwardly by heavy springs against a stop, said roll being designed to yield to irregularities in the thickness of the blank. The other rollcommonly called the gage roll-is adapted to be moved away from the knife until further movement is arrested by a stop which has previously-been adjusted into the proper position, after which the roll remains fixed, so far as any movement away from the knife is concerned, the distance between the edge of the knife and the lower surface of the roll determining the thickness to which the blank shall be split. Splitting mechanism of this general type is shown, for example, in British Patent No. 190,241. In this machine the blank is split inaccordance with the thickness of its thinnest spot; and the gage roll is raised by the passage of the blank beneath it until further upward movement of said roll is arrested by a pair of wedge-shaped stops which have previously been adjusted into the desired position.

It is desirable in splitting machines that the knife be located as close as possibleto the bite of the rolls, or (what amounts to the same thing) to the plane which contains the axes of the rolls so that a blank may be properly held during the splitting operation, and

that the mounting of the gage roll be such that the angle between a. plane passed through the axis of that roll and the edge of the knife and a plane which coincideswith the adjacent face of the knife be equal to or larger than a. right angle in order to provide proper clearance for the finished blank to pass between the knife and the roll. In constructions such as that shown in the British patent in which the lower or feed roll is located somewhat in front of the upper or gage roll so as to permit the knife to be inclined downwardly and rearwardly from the bite of the rolls, it will be noted that, as the gage roll is moved up to provide for thicker blanks, the bite of the rolls moves away from the 26,928, and in Great Britain May 21, 1924 edge of the knife so that a thick blank is not gr pped by the rolls in a locality as near to the edge of the knife as is a. thin blank.

According to one feature of the invention,

means are provided for gripping the blank closeto the edge of the knife irrespective of whether it is thin or thick. In the illustrated embodiment of the invention this means takes the form of yielding-fingers carried by the bearing of the feed roll, the construction and arrangement being such that the operative "is depressed. i

' This and other features of the invention, including certain detailsof construction and combinations of parts, will be described as embodied in an illustrative machine and pointed out in the appended claims.

Referring now to the accompanying drawings, 1

Figure 1 1s a rear elevation of a portion of a machine in which the presentinvention is embodied;

Figure 2 is a vertical longitudinal section through a portion of the machine, and;

Figure 3 is a detail partly in section and partly in elevation showing a modification.

Referring first to Figures 1 and .2, there is portions of these fingers rise as the feed roll shown a portion ofa splitting mechanism designed for use in a machine of thetype disclosed in-the patent. The lower or feedroll 5 is mounted in a yoke-like bearing 7 which is vertically slidable' in suitable ways formed in the frame of the machine, said yoke being;

urged upward at all times by heavy: springs 9. Stops (not shown) limit the extent of upward movement of thebearing so that theroll cannot at any time contact with the knife. The gage roll 11 is mounted in bearings, one of which is shown at 13, said bearings being vertically slidable in ways, one of which is.

indicated at This roll normally occupies the position shown, just out of contact with the knife, and is adapted to belifted by a blank, as it enters between the rolls, until further upward movement is arrested by stops (not shown) which have previously been automatically adjusted'in accordance'with the thickness of the thinnest spot in the blank by feeler mechanism through which theEblank has. passed. Located'behind the bite of the rolls is a stationary knife 17 so that, as the blank is fed (also not shown) i to the knife by the rolls, the blank is split.

in accordance with the thickness. of its thinnest spot, the finished blank passing over the knife and the comparatively thin waste material passingbeneathj the knife. During the splitting operation the feed roll yields to inequalities in the thickness of theblank and .tilts endwise if the blank is thickerat one edge than at the other. I

Referring now more particularly to the arrangement of the knife and rolls, the knife is v inclined upward toward the bite offthe rolls,

as shown, so that avertical plane through the axis ofthe gage roll passes Very close'tothe elge of the knife and is substantially perpendicular to the adjacent beveled face of-the knife. Andinasmuch asthe gage roll moves vertically upward, the angle included be- I tween the vertical plane through the axis of the roll and the plane of the adj acent face of the knife never becomes smaller. and roll having thus once been set to produce 7 The knife will be noted that the plane which passes through the axes of the rolls moves away f'romand toward the knifeedge as" the gage roll moves up and down. The general construction and mode of operation'of themaehine, as thus far described, is or may be substantially like that of the patented'machine and will not be further described in detail.

.In order to assist in holding the blank" against the under surface of the gage roll, a series offingers 21 are provided. These fin-' gers extend into grooves 23 formed in the roll and are pivoted onarod 25 which'is carried by a bracket'27 fastened by screws 29 to the yoke-like bearing 7 of the roll. With the fingers thuscarrie'd by the bearing of the roll, if the roll tilts, due to the presence between the rolls of a blank which is thicker at one edge than at the other, there is'no'possibility that the fingerswill bind in the grooves as might happen if the fingers we're'carried by the frame of" the machine. The operative portions of the fingers'are urged to swing upwardly by springs 31 which are fast at 1 one end to "arms 33 formed on the fingers and at-the otherend to hooks 35 pro]ectin'g upwardlyfr'om a bar 37 fixedto the front of the bearing 7. The bar hasformed on it at eache'nd a'rounded projecti'on39 which en gages theyoke; and below these projections are screws which pass through the bar andare threaded into the bearing. Byadjusting these screw-s, the bar may berocked about the points of contact of the projections to vary the tension of the springs. The fingers 21 havedownwardly extending tails 11 having cam faces which, when the feed roll 5 is in its uppermost position, are held by the springs 81 against a horizontal rod 43 carried at the upper end of a yoke 45 so that the fingers 21 are held by the rod 13 just out of engagement with the knife. As the feed roll 5 moves downward, due to the entry of a blank between the rolls, the fingers 21 also move downward, the cam faces on the tails of the fingers movingv with respect to the rod 43, whereupon the springs 31. act to rock the fingers about the rod 25, thereby swinging the blank-engagingportions of the fingers upward until they extend above the periphery of the roll 5. The arrangement is thus such that, as the roll 5 is moved downward andper haps tilted, the fingers, or thoseat that end of the rollwhich is lowest, as the case may be, project more and more abovethe periphery of the roll toaid in holding the blank firmly against the roll 11 but are never permitted to contact with the knife. r r

In order to provide means for varying the initial position of the fingers 21 and for con trolling their operation, theyoke 45 which carries the rod 13 is adjustably carried by the frame of the machine. To thisend the yoke is pivot-ally mounted on a sleeve 47 which isbored eccentrically and is fastened by screws 19 to alined rods 51 rotatably mounted'iii a'member'58 fastened by screws 55 to the frame 57 of the mach ne. The yoke 15 is positioned about thesleeve 17 by screws screw 61 being .threadedthrough a boss-on changing the'angular position of the eccentrlc sleeve 17 on the rod 51, the-rod 43 may be adjusted vertically.

In Figure 3there is shown ainodification of the arrangement of the knife and rolls which will also produce proper clearance conditions. In this modification. the knife is horizontal and the upper or gage roll-is so guided that, as it is raised above the knife,-

it moves forwardin the direction indicated bythe dot-and-dash line. In its initial lowered position the angle included between-the plane passed-through the axis of the roll and the edge of the knife and the plane otthof ad acent face of the'knife iss'uhstantiallya right angle; and the roll movesupward and forward, this angle increases. i

The knife 17-, for convenience in honing, is provided on both beveled faces with recesses extendingacross the knife parallel to .its'edge; and that one of the two raised flat faces formed upon the upper; side of the knife at the knife edge is about half the width of the corresponding fiat face beneath it, this construction producing a stronger edge than as though both these faces were of the width of the upper one. In order to bend the blank toward the gage roll and thereby to prevent the blank from being drawn away from the roll by the pull of the knife while the blank is being split, a strip 19 may be secured to the knife in the position shown. This strip extends across the knife parallel to the knife edge and may be located at about the middle of the recess between the fiat faces of the bevel, the front edge of the strip being inclined upward so as to direct the blank toward the gage roll.

In order to promote brevity, the knife has been shown and described as being ground fiat. It should be understood, however, that the same conditions as to clearance apply in the case of a hollow ground knife; and, indeed, that, after a hollow ground knife has been honed a few times, it assumes a shape which is substantially that of the'knife illustrated in that each converging face is composed of two flat faces separated by a recess.

Although the invention has been set forth as embodied in a particular machine, it should be understood that the invention is not limited in the scope of its application to the particular machine which has been shown and described.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is 1. Splitting mechanism comprising a knife, cooperating rolls for feeding a blank to the knife and a series of yielding fingers movable in unison with one of the rolls and arranged to hold the blank against the other roll in the locality in which the splitting takes place. i V

2. Splitting mechanism comprising a knife, a pair of cooperating rolls for feeding a blank to the knife, a yieldingly sustained slidable member in which one of the rolls is rotatably mounted, and a series of yielding fingers carried by said member and arranged to hold the blank against the other roll close to the edge of the knife.

3. Splitting mechanism comprising a knife, a pair of cooperating rolls for feeding a blank to the knife, a yieldingly sustained slidable member in which one of the rolls is rotatably mounted, a series of fingers pivotally mounted upon said member, and a series of springs, one for each finger, for urg ing the fingers toward the other roll.

4. Splitting mechanism knife, cooperating rolls for feeding a blank to the knife, said rolls being movable toward comprising a and from the knife, a series of yielding fingers movable in unisonwith one of said rolls, and a stationary stop adapted to prevent the fingers from contacting with the knife.

5. Splitting mechanism comprising a knife, cooperating rolls for feeding a blank to the knife, said rolls being movable toward and from the knife, a series of yielding fingers movable in unison with one of said rolls, said fingers having tails provided with cam surfaces, and a stationary member adapted to cooperate with said surfaces, the construction of the cam surfaces bemg such that, as the roll moves away from the knife, the operative portions of the fingers move toward the other roll. r p

6. Splitting mechanism comprising a knife, cooperating rolls for feeding a blank to the knife, said rolls being movable toward and from the knife, a series of yielding'fingers movable in unison with one of said rolls, said fingers having tails provided with cam surfaces, a stationary member adapted to. co-

operate With. said surfaces, the construction of the cam surfaces being such that, as the roll moves away from the knife, the operative portions of the fingers move toward the other roll, and means whereby said stationary member may be adjusted.

7. Splitting mechanism pair of separable rolls, a'knife, one of said rolls being movable toward and from said knife in a path which issubstantially perpen dicular to that face ofthe knife which is ad- Y jacent to the movable roll, and a series of yielding fingers movable with the other roll.

8; Splitting mechanism comprising a pair of separable rolls, a knife, the arrangement of the knife and one of the rolls being such that as the roll moves to different positions away from the knife, the angle included bet-ween the adjacent face of the knife and a line drawn from the axis of the roll tothe edge of the knife does not decrease in size, and a series of yielding fingers movable with the other roll.

9.. Splitting mechanism comprising a knife, a pair of cooperating rolls for feeding a blank to the knife, one of said rolls being movable toward and from the other during comprising a the splitting operation, a' movable bearing in which the last-named roll is mounted, and a series of yieldmgfingers carried by said bearing so as to move inunison with said last-named roll.

In testimony whereof we have signed our names to thisspecification.

JOSEPH GOULDBOURN.

BASIL POMER'OY COOPER.

HAROLD ERNEST ELLIOTT. 

